litter training

Question
QUESTION: I have a pot belly pig and have had him for 2 weeks now .His name is Bart. He has a horrible musky smell and humps everyone and everything. We had him neutered yesterday and let him out for some time to move around and stretch a bit and the first thing he did was start humping and then came the horrible smell. my whole house smells of this musty smell. will this smell stop and in how long? or Am I dumed for an aweful smelling home?   Thanks, Deanna

ANSWER: Pot-bellied pigs mature quite young, they are fertile at just 8 weeks of age. Two weeks is a little young to be smelling and humping. But it sounds exactly like 2 month old intact male pig. I assume the vet found and removed both testicles with no problems.

Male pigs are fertile for up to 30 days after being neutered. Because your piglet is still young, all the "boar symptoms" should vanish completely in 30 days, probably sooner. His tusks will continue to grow, just a lot slower. They will probably poke out of his lip when he reaches age 2 or 2-1/2 years.

The odor is from the preputial diverticulum located in the middle of his belly. This little pouch collects fluids to make that distinct boar odor. Washing this area daily will help the smell go away sooner. Get him down for a belly rub then wash the belly area well with a warm, damp cloth.

Males sometimes stain their bedding because of the preputial diverticulum. If this happens, wash his bedding with any product designed to remove pet odors from laundry.

---------- FOLLOW-UP ----------

QUESTION: Thank you for the answer to my question, bart is also smelling better already. Im sorry ,Ive only had him 2 weeks but hes 12 weeks old. He is having trouble with litter training, hes going potty on his bedding so I added his litter box filled with cedar shavings and now he wants to potty in it and sleep in it. when I let him out to run around I put down potty pads he does good with that some days but recently hes been going everywhere and scolding him seems to make him worse.please help?   Thanks, Deanna

Answer
Ok the biggest problem here is that he is confused about what is his bed and what is his potty box. Part of the problem is that he was just neutered, intact males like to pee on things. That urge will go away soon, so training will get easier.

If he's already gone potty on his bedding a few times, it needs super cleaning. People might not be able to smell anything, but his piggy super-nose will. If you can, toss all the bedding and give him new bedding. It's often possible to find blankets, sheets, sleeping bags, etc at places like flea markets and thrift stores for a few dollars each. If you must reuse the bedding, wash it in hot water with any good laundry product designed to remove pet odors. Go easy on fabric softeners and dryer sheets, they have a strong odor that might bother his nose and make it uncomfortable for him to sleep there.

Switch from cedar shavings to anything else in his litter box. He's already slept in the cedar shavings, now he associates them with his bed. A different litter in the box, like shredded newspaper or pine shavings will help him learn that the potty box is not his bed.

Pigs learn to potty in a particular spot, not in a box or on a pad. They also like to use spots near by, they don't like to walk far to potty. Using pads in locations other than the box confuses him.

So make sure his box is big enough for him to turn around in, and low enough for him to step into easily, and make him use it every time he has to potty. Take him to his box often. As soon as he wakes up in the morning or from a nap, before and after every meal, before and after training sessions, and whenever you have to go. The idea is to make him potty in that box every time he needs to potty, and make sure that he doesn't have the need to potty when he's away from his box.

Once he's in the box, don't let him out until he does potty. Pigs can be sneaky! It's not unusual for a pig in potty training refuse to potty in the box (or outside), then potty moments later in a no-no spot.